29 April 2013

Snooth PVA: Ribera del Duero

During my weekend in New York, I kept getting whisked away to a different cuisine or wine region every few hours. At moments, I was reminded of the classic quip "If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium." And thus on Saturday at noon, we gathered for lunch at the Spanish restaurant Salinas in Chelsea, featuring the wines of Ribera del Duero.

Ribera del Duero perches on a plateau about 200km/125 miles north of Madrid. Wine production there is difficult and yields are small but spectacular. The land was scraped and destroyed by retreating Moors in the 15th century, leaving it almost useless for farming. (The environment is so harsh that even phylloxera has a hard time surviving.) The focus is almost exclusively on the Tempranillo grape. Legally wines in the Denominación de Origen are required to have at least 75% Tempranillo (or Tinto Fino as they call it), but most of the 280 producers do not blend.

Why stick around in such a harsh area, making wine from only one grape? This is also Basque country, where the people are tenacious and tied to their native land, language, cuisine, and wine. As our host remarked, "Before God was God and rocks were rocks, the Basque were Basque."

While we were fed exceptionally well over the entirety of the weekend, this was my favorite meal, starting off with...

I found this a novel way to serve short ribs--just two ribs and sliced potatoes in a crème brûlée ramekin. You get just enough of the rich flavor without it getting too heavy. I was reminded of Thomas Keller's mantra about the palate dulling after three bites. I restrained myself and did not pick up the crockery to lick it clean.

2001 Explotaciones Valduero, $160: The mint came back on this wine, which also featured aromas of plum and bacon fat. A really complex, fascinating, and well-aged wine. I kept coming back to it at the end of the meal, picking out new elements and layers.

2001 Condado de Haza Alenza, $100: Another earthy one that I loved, this time with licorice and coffee on top of a solid black cherry base. Beautifully aged.

For dessert we had a lovely assortment of Spanish cheeses and quince paste, a mix that was so good with the wine that I neglected to take a picture.

Spain continues to surprise me. Just when I think I have a grasp on the country and its many wine regions, I get an opportunity to delve deep into one that is new to me, but has been producing wine for thousands of years. As part of my fascination with Mediterranean wines, I hope to try some bottles from the Balearic Islands in the future. Hopefully as part of a year long trip, sailing around the sea in a small boat and docking every few days to try the local bottles and dishes, maybe take in a little fishing as well. One of these days I'll retrace the old Phoenician wine routes...

I don't post a lot of photos of myself on this site, but my buddy Dezel snapped a shot of me hard at work tasting the delicious wines of the Ribera del Duero. I'm hoping he can make an excuse to come to Memphis to enjoy some wine with proper barbecue.